tropical storm isaias causes governor’s cup wind damage ... · according to a press release from...

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INSIDE THIS WEEK

G L O U C E S T E R M AT H E W S

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020 VOL. LXXXIII, no. 32 NEW SERIES (USPS 220-560) GLOUCESTER, VA. 23061 | MATHEWS, VA. 23109 three sections 34 pages 75 CENTS

All About PetsPets � ll our days with joy. This week, the Gazette-Journal looks at some of the furry friends who are near and dear to your hearts, with the entries in this year’s photo contest. See pages 1C-8C.

*The Wells Fargo Home Projects credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Bank N.A., an Equal Housing Lender. Special terms apply to qualifying purchases charged with approved credit. The special terms APR will continue to apply until all qualifying purchases are paid in full. The monthly payment for this purchase will be the amount that will pay for the purchase in full in equal payments during the promotional (special terms) period. The APR for Purchases will apply to certain fees such as a late payment fee or if you use the card for other transactions. For new accounts, the APR for Purchases is 28.99%. If you are charged interest in any billing cycle, the minimum interest charge will be $1.00. This information is accurate as of 4/1/2020 and is subject to change. For current information, call us at 1-800-431-5921. Offer expires 8/31/2020. **See your independent Trane Dealer for complete program eligibility, dates, details and restrictions. Special financing offers or rebates up to $1,200 valid on Qualifying Equipment only. Offers vary by equipment. All sales must be to homeowners in the United States. Void where prohibited.

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KIM ROBINS / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Tropical Storm Isaias ended the life of this more than 120-year-old linden tree in the yard of a Zanoni home fronting the Ware River. The home also had a third-� oor window blown out.


Governor’s CupThe Ware River Yacht Club hosted the 56th Virginia Governor’s Cup Regatta Saturday and Sunday. Above, the Laser class competed after rain and clouds Saturday morning gave way to a gentle breeze. O� cial race results were not available at press time.

School board expected to vote this month on name change

Pursuit ends peacefully at Walmart

BY MELANY SLAUGHTER AND TYLER BASS

Tropical Storm Isaias quickly passed through Gloucester and Mathews early Tuesday morning, but the counties did not come away from the storm unscathed.

According to the United States National Weather Service in Wake-fi eld, the counties received two to four inches of rain during the storm. The storm also produced 53 mph winds, according to Deb Buchanan of Gwynn, a volunteer observer with the NWS, which re-sulted in signifi cant wind damage in the region.

Mathews did not experience any tornadoes, according to Mathews Emergency Coordinator Willie Love. Love also said that there were about 5,500-5,600 residenc-es in the county without power at the height of the storm. At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dominion Energy was reporting 1,067 Mathews custom-ers still without service.

In Gloucester, during the storm’s peak, more than 7,000 residences were without power, according to Gloucester’s Emergency Manage-ment Coordinator Brett Major.

MELANY SLAUGHTER / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

A suspected tornado touched down on Aberdeen Creek Road early Tuesday morning, brought on by the conditions of Tropi-cal Storm Isaias. It caused the downing of many trees and power lines leading to the damaging of homes. Fortunately, no one was hurt when this tree fell.

BY KIM ROBINS

A 20-year-old Dutton man was charged with felony eluding after leading Gloucester Sheriff’s deputies on a short, but violation-ridden road chase on Monday.

The incident started around 4 p.m. when the man, driving a silver Honda, passed a deputy at the fuel pumps on Justice Drive before pulling sideways in the middle of the road blocking both lanes, according to a press release from the Gloucester Sheriff’s

Offi ce and the offi cer’s criminal complaint.

The man exited the vehicle and began to spray something on a speed limit sign. The deputy approached on foot and asked what the man was doing and told him to stop but the man ignored the deputy and drove on toward the Sheriff’s Offi ce.

The suspect made a U-turn and came back toward the deputy and sped by, running through three stop signs on Justice Drive and exiting southbound on Main Street

with the deputy in pursuit.According to court papers,

the man went the wrong way around the court circle and continued at a high rate of speed down Main Street, weaving in and out of traffi c. He continued to the intersection of Main Street and Route 17 where he turned northbound on the south side of Route 17 and proceeded in the wrong direction.

The man next made a U-turn in the middle of Route 17

Gloucester adds 9 new cases; 3 in Mathews in past week

Tropical Storm Isaias causes wind damage, power outages

BY CHARLIE KOENIG

Less than a month after the proposal was introduced at a Mathews School Board meet-ing, the board is set to take ac-tion on whether to remove the name Lee-Jackson from the county’s elementary school.

School board members ap-proved consideration of the name change as an action

item for the Aug. 18 agenda during a special meeting held last Thursday in the Harry M. Ward Auditorium at Mathews High School.

The Tuesday, Aug. 18 meet-ing will be held at 6 p.m. in the high school’s auditorium.

In addition to adding this item to the August agenda, the school board also unani-mously voted against hav-

ing the question of the name change placed before county voters on the November bal-lot.

The crowdOn the same day that U.S.

Representative and civil rights leader John Lewis was laid to rest in Georgia, a large crowd turned out at last Thursday’s

BY SHERRY HAMILTON

The cumulative num-ber of cases of COVID-19 in Gloucester and Mathews con-tinued to increase over the past week, with Gloucester adding nine new cases since last Wednesday morning, for a total of 147 that have oc-curred in the county since March, and Mathews increas-

ing by three cases, for a total of 15.

The number of people hos-pitalized in the two counties remained stable, however, with Gloucester adding only one hospitalized patient, for a total on Wednesday morning of 13, and Mathews remaining at just two patients who have been treated in the hospital since the pandemic began.

There have been two deaths from the virus in Gloucester and none in Mathews.

Middlesex County added seven cases over the past week, for a total of 32, and saw the hospitalization of a third patient. One person in Middlesex has died from the illness.

ELSA VERBYLA / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Lashing gusting winds on Tuesday morning caused a large branch to break o� along Main Street in Mathews, and a luckless vehicle parked at the curb provided a landing place for it.

SEE ISAIAS, PAGE 8A

SEE POLICE PURSUIT, PAGE 7A

SEE COVID-19, PAGE 5A

SEE LEE-JACKSON, PAGE 5A

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2A GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL THURSDAY AUGUST 6, 2020Gloucester GleaninGs

Gloucester-MathewsGAZETTE-JOURNAL

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I thought to myself, “Never Again!”

At first, I didn’t think it would be too bad. . . When the stay at home order began, I thought, “That’s not a big deal. I don’t go out too often anyhow.” I thought of it as a snow storm threat and loaded the cupboards with soup and pasta thinking it wouldn’t last more than a few weeks.

But as the days and weeks dragged on, I watched the news and started getting scared. The housekeeper who I have come once a week canceled. My doctor said I shouldn’t go out because of my heart condition, and so the only person I saw each week was the grocery deliveryman, and that was only through the window.

Every day was the same. I watched the news, read my book, and did crossword puzzles. I felt the worry and loneliness slip in like a cold draft. I could hear the masked worry in my daughter’s voice when she told me, “Everything will go back to normal soon.” I started losing track of the days and began questioning if I had taken my medication or eaten lunch. This really gave Groundhog Day a new and frightening meaning.

• What if I did get sick? Would I be able to get help?

• How long will this last?

• When will I be able to get out to see church family again?

After 6 weeks, I’d had enough. I didn’t survive the fight in Korea and work 40 years to spend my retirement alone and scared. It was time to do something about it. I couldn’t be isolated any longer. When I called Commonwealth Senior Living, they asked why I decided to call today. I joked that between the loneliness and toilet paper shortage, I decided it was time to make a move.

I moved in mid-May and have been patting myself on the back ever since. I no longer have to worry about anything! The food is great. The place is spotless, and the truth is they treat me like a king. They even put my picture up on the Wall of Valor with the rest of the retired military guys. It’s good to be part of a community again.

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Supporting local businessNine Gloucester businesses were awarded grants totaling $31,677.37 through the Gloucester CARES Act Business Recovery Round 1 which ran July 14-17. The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors allocated $512,000 in funds provided under the federal government’s CARES Act to help local businesses impacted by COVID-19. This grant program was designed to reimburse the increased costs of changed business practices in response to the pandemic not including the nor-mal costs of operating the business. Above, Gloucester Economic Development director Sherry Spring, at right, presents Sweet Tooth Café and Bakery owner Crystal Burton with a business recovery check.

Family transfer public hearing postponed to September

BY MELANY SLAUGHTER

A public hearing on the family transfer ordinance amendment and platting requirements code amend-ment, originally scheduled to be held during this month’s Gloucester County Planning Commission meeting, has been postponed to Septem-ber.

According to staff docu-

ments, the county attorney had a number of suggested revisions and questions about the platting requirements code amendment when staff put the platting requirements checklist into ordinance for-mat. Staff could not revise it in time to make the advertis-ing deadline for this month’s meeting.

At tonight’s meeting, which will be held in the T.C. Walker

Education Center Auditorium at 7 o’clock, the planners will discuss other regulations that are currently housed in Ar-ticle 9.

Staff documents state that the regulations that will be discussed in detail tonight include “regulations that are best addressed in other County Ordinances, regula-tions that are best included in Article 5 District Regulations,

and regulations that should remain in Article 9 under ‘oth-er’ regulations applicable to all districts.”

The planners will also listen to staff’s presentation on the 2020 Legislative Summary. Staff will present brief review on the bills from the 2020 General Assembly regular ses-sion that will most impact the work of staff and the commis-sion.


Food from the HeartThe annual Food from the Heart Foundation luncheon to benefit local food pantries was canceled due to COVID-19, but that did not stop US Foods from donating to the cause. Above, volunteer Bo Hicks of Union Baptist Church helps unload a full van of food donated Monday by US Foods. The food was delivered to White Hall Farm and divided among food pantries at Union Baptist, Susanna Wesley United Methodist Church, and the Bread for Life Food Pantry.

Apple Tree school supply drive underway

Bill Hudgins GMC, Gloucester, is sponsoring an Apple Tree School Supply Drive. Individuals, businesses and other organizations can contribute to the youth in fos-ter care during the upcoming school year. Donations will be accepted through Aug. 14.

Those interested in donat-ing can obtain an apple or choose a specific item from an apple at automobile deal-ership, contribute gift cards or make a monetary contribu-tion.

Monetary contributions can by made by check pay-able to Gloucester County Department of Social Servic-

es, with Foster Care noted in the memo line. Checks may be submitted at Bill Hudgins GMC.

Y M C K

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Dubois named to state advisory committee

Back to Business grants available in Mathews

Farming the old-fashioned way

Mathews BZA meets next week

BY SHERRY HAMILTON

Back to Business grants are available to help business-es on the Middle Peninsula cover the costs of comply-ing with COVID-19 pandemic guidelines, but Mathews busi-nesses haven’t been taking advantage of the funding.

Mathews supervisor Me-lissa Mason, speaking during the board’s July 28 meeting, said she discovered at a re-cent meeting of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission that there have been numerous inquiries and applications for the grants in the other localities in the planning district, “but not Mathews.”

Pointing out that meals tax returns are down by 61 per-cent in Mathews, Mason said the grant money is now avail-able to benefit businesses as they make changes that en-able them to comply with new

health and safety require-ments. The board of supervi-sors has allocated $100,000 of its federal CARES Act funding to the grant program, which is being overseen by the MPPDC.

According to the MPPDC’s Back to Business website, b2bmidpen.com, the grants won’t help with the day-to-day costs of running a busi-ness such as salaries, ben-efits, lost revenues, or normal operating costs. Among the costs that are eligible for coverage are construction of outdoor facilities for din-ing, conversion of an outdoor space into a seating area, and purchase of tables and chairs for outdoor seating.

In addition, the purchase of signage related to COVID-19 guidelines, the cost of mak-ing modifications such as screens and buffers to check-out counters, paying to store tables and chairs that had to

BY SHERRY HAMILTON

G.T. Ward of Cobbs Creek farms the old-fashioned way, periodically bottom-plowing the land to break up roots and turn up rocks that might inter-fere with his crop. He raises hay for his cattle, and turns the land when it’s time to re-seed.

Ward said he doesn’t prac-tice no-till farming and doesn’t participate in government programs that encourage the practice.

“If I lose, I lose,” he said.One of the parcels Ward

farms is at Iron Point, where his family has long owned farmland. Now owned by his uncle Jack Ward, the piece is on the Piankatank River, look-ing out the mouth of the river toward the Chesapeake Bay.

Ward said his grandparents, Joe and Charlotte Ward, lived at Hesse for many years, farm-ing that land as well as their own with mules and raising six children while doing it. When their boys grew up, they moved to a place on Windsor Road.

“Fifty years ago I came here with my daddy, plowing on an old two-cylinder John Deere tractor,” said Ward. “He wouldn’t know what to think of my tractor now, with air conditioning.”

Although he doesn’t make a habit of looking for arrow-heads, Ward said he thinks the land he plows was once occupied by native tribes. He said he turns up numer-ous oyster shells that tell him people were living on the land long ago.

Ward is content with his life as a farmer. He said in the ear-ly mornings when he’s work-ing the land at Iron Point, the sun rises behind Stove Point on the Deltaville side of the river.

“It looks like a ball of fire in the woods,” he said. “It’s a beautiful sight.”

SHERRY HAMILTON / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Mathews resident G.T. Ward farms the old-fashioned way, above, bottom-plowing his land to get rid of roots and rocks. Below left, his plow makes deep furrows in the land, turning it over and turning up roots and rocks. Below right, he is shown with his Australian Cattle Dog “Guf” on a parcel at Iron Point owned by his uncle, Jack Ward.

Amy Dubois, chair of the Mathews County Board of Supervisors, was appointed by Gov. Ralph Northam on July 31 to a position on the Local Government Advisory Committee to the Chesa-peake Bay Executive Coun-cil.

The 20-member committee meets quarterly and is com-posed of up to six elected officials each from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania and up to three members from the District of Colum-bia. Three additional states in the Chesapeake Bay wa-tershed—Delaware, New York, and West Virginia—may each have one repre-sentative on the committee.

According to the commit-tee’s by-laws, it is charged with advising the executive council on ways to effec-

tively “engage, empower, and facilitate” local govern-ments in order to achieve the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. There is no compensation for the posi-tion.

Amy Dubois

The Mathews County Board of Zoning Appeals will meet at 7 p.m. next Thurs-day, Aug. 13, in the historic courthouse on Court Street. The board will consider one appeal of a decision made by the planning and zon-ing administrator and two requests for variances from the zoning ordinance.

William Eley and Robin Hooper will appeal a Viola-tion Notice and Correction Order issued on Feb. 18 con-cerning property located at 905 Williams Wharf Road. The property is the site of Williams Wharf Oyster Com-pany. The applicant is asking for an interpretation of three sections: the uses permitted by right in the Residential-1 zoning district, the require-ments for a conditional use permit, and home occupa-tions, as well as an appeal of the decision made by the planning and zoning direc-tor.

Ronald G. Pusey of Mongo Properties LLC is requesting two variances from the zon-ing ordinance for two sepa-rate, side-by-side parcels in order to build two houses. On one lot, he would like to reduce the front yard set-back from 50 feet to 15 feet, the rear yard setback from 50 feet to 27 feet, and the side yard setbacks from 20 feet to 15 feet on one side and to 12 feet on the other side. On the other lot, he would like to reduce the front yard set-back from 50 feet to 27 feet, one corner side yard set-back from 40 feet to 15 feet, and the two side yards set-backs from 20 feet to 15 feet on one side and to 12 feet on the other side.

Because of COVID-19 re-strictions, audience capac-ity will be limited, and com-ments will be taken on a rotating basis. The meeting will also be streamed on the county’s Facebook page.

be removed to reduce seat-ing, and purchasing materials to cordon off public spaces are all costs that can be cov-ered with the funding.

The grants will also cover the cost of computer hard-ware necessary for employ-ees to work remotely and computer software to sup-port remote work or to up-grade Internet services to support e-commerce.

Finally, personal protective equipment and costs related to sanitation such as sanita-tion stations and supplies, disinfectant equipment, and disinfection contracts are all eligible expenses.

A wide range of businesses qualify for funding assistance, from grocery stores and res-taurants to pharmacies and laundromats. Medical and vision supply retailers, elec-tronic retailers, auto parts and repair facilities, building material and supply stores, lawn and garden equipment stores, and pet and feed stores may all apply.

Office supply stores, day care providers, professional service providers, nursing homes, and hotels and mo-

tels are all eligible, as are farmers’ markets, agriculture and seafood businesses that serve the public, fitness and exercise facilities, personal care and grooming services, campgrounds and summer camps, and more.

Mathews County Admin-istrator Mindy Conner said that, with more CARES Act funding due localities—an ad-ditional $770,000 for Mathews alone—“We really do want our local businesses to ben-efit.”

“A lot of businesses may not realize what they’ve done that’s eligible, or what they could do,” she said. “We want people to be creative and use the funds in ways that will help.”

Mason said that residents who need help with the ap-plication process may con-tact MPPDC (804-758-2311 or [email protected]) or the Mathews County Administra-tion offices (804-725-7172).

For more information on the Back to Business Middle Peninsula grant, including the online application, visit b2bmidpen.com.

Gloucester-MathewsGAZETTE-JOURNAL

onlinewww.gazettejournal.net

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Bessie Rowe Berry of Hayes will turn 100 years old on Aug. 14. She is a native of Achilles and the oldest member of Union Bap-tist Church in Achilles.

BY NANCY BORBE SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Bessie Berry, affectionately known as “Miss Bessie,” is an amazing lady! At age 12 she raised her six siblings after the death of her mother. She tells the story of her teacher hitting her hands with a ruler for being late to school. She had to feed her siblings and she wouldn’t think of leav-ing the house a mess, but it always put her behind. The principal found out her plight and stopped the punishment. At an early age she was re-spected in her community for the love and hard work that she unselfishly gave to others.

Miss Bessie was a wonder-ful wife to her husband, Rob-ert. She nursed him through a long illness until his death. She counts her three children, Robert, David and Susan, and her grandchildren as bless-ings in her life.

Bessie Rowe Berry sewing scrub hats for children heading into surgery.

‘Miss Bessie’ to turn 100 next weekShe worked in local school

libraries and served up food behind the lunch counter at the Plaza Pharmacy. She worked at Cheatham Annex until the birth of her first child. Early on she taught her-self to sew and that skill pro-vided clothes and domestic needs for the family and oth-ers.

Miss Bessie is known for the remarkable things that she creates. Her creativity has presented itself in many ways over the years. There are no “buts” as excuses for service in Miss Bessie’s eyes. Even with a busted “butt” (from a fall), she made a canopy for the fall festival. She is a tal-ented seamstress, evident by the drapes and countless tablecloths that she made for the church as well as sewing for other special events. She sewed for income but she said that she considered it an hon-or to sew for her church and “wouldn’t take a penny.”

Miss Bessie has had her hands in many pies during her life, not to mention how many she has made! She is a wonderful cook and has used

FAMILY PHOTO

Bessie Rowe Berry was one of seven children, six of whom are shown in this photo from 1978, from left, Emmett Rowe, Edward Rowe, Bessie Berry, Amy Johnson, Francis Rowe and Hugh Rowe. Missing is sister, Charlotte Dell.

those skills willingly to serve at socials, funerals, for the needy and to gather her fam-ily for Sunday dinner. Miss Bessie is a lifelong member of Union Baptist Church. She has provided countless hours of

service, never wanting to be recognized for any of it. She has taught Sunday school, was a faithful member of SAM’s Club and a supporter of York River Circle of The King’s Daughters.

At an age where most peo-ple would deservedly slow down Miss Bessie continued to serve the Lord stating sim-ply with a giving heart… “I’ll do whatever I can, just let me know what you need.”

Miss Bessie’s latest project was making 50 surgical scrub hats for children that are go-ing into surgery. They get to pick the hat that suits them and take it home afterwards. They can have a super hero, princess, their favorite car-toon character or colors with them. Miss Bessie could have made them all the same, but that is not her way. She smiles with that twinkle in her eyes and is pleased with her gift to these unknown children.

Happy birthday, Miss Bes-sie! Know that you are ap-preciated and loved by many. The world is a better place to have been touched by you. God bless you!

PHOTOS BY LINDA TJOSSEM

Radical changeWater levels fluctuated wildly on Tuesday morning as Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the area. In the top photo of a dock off a tributary of the Severn River in lower Gloucester, the water is lapping over the dock; and that was taken two hours before high tide (around 8:15 a.m.). Less than two hours later (bot-tom photo), the water had been sucked from Butler Creek as the storm left the area, causing a radical change in water levels.

LVG available to help

parents in new role as

teachersAs the end of summer rap-

idly approaches, Literacy Volunteers of Gloucester is looking at ways to help par-ents prepare for the “virtual semester” in September.

LVG tutors are available for parents who are looking to im-prove their skills with virtual learning and/or sharpen their math, science, social studies, and/or language arts skills given the new challenges of having children attending school in a virtual setting this fall.

In addition, the organization will continue to have tutors available for those interested in distance learning for adult education and GED prepara-tion. LVG subscribes to GED Academy, an online learning program that helps adults achieve their GED. Learning can be done from the comfort and safety of home, with en-couragement, guidance, and additional education through an LVG tutor by phone or Zoom. These services are pro-vided at no cost to the learner.

For more information, email [email protected], or call 804-693-1306. For more information on GED Academy, visit www.essentialed.com/products/gedacademy.php.

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Call Charlie DrummondGloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal

804-693-3101

Y M C K

THURSDAY AUGUST 6, 2020 GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL 5A

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meeting in favor of the name change, with some carrying signs encouraging people to “Get into Good Trouble”—a reference to a quote from the late Congressman.

Those in favor of the name change gathered at the door to the auditorium; while at the front of the school by the mar-quee, another group waving Confederate flags stood in op-position to the proposal, the same place they had rallied prior to the school board’s July 21 meeting. While the number of those rallying to keep the school’s name in honor of the two Confederate generals remained roughly the same at both meetings, they were far outnumbered by proponents of a name change at the second meeting.

No public comment was permitted at last Thursday’s meeting.

Setting the agendaAbout 20 minutes at the

start of last Thursday’s meet-ing was taken up with approv-ing the brief agenda, which also included a discussion of plans for reopening the school division for the 2020-2021 school year (see related story).

Normally a pro forma part of every meeting, approv-ing the agenda became a bit contentious, beginning with school board member Bambi Thompson both asking for the name change to be placed as an action item and expressing some confusion as to whether the school board had official-ly agreed to take up the issue

in the first place.“The process has already

begun as such,” chairman John Priest said. At the July 21 meeting, Priest said that the process would involve the establishment of a subcom-mittee that would sift through suggestions from the commu-nity to come up with a recom-mended name.

Priest said that he did not feel comfortable adding the Lee-Jackson name change as an action item to the cur-rent agenda, but was willing to make it part of the Aug. 18 meeting.

“I will gladly put it on the next agenda,” he said. Priest said he didn’t want it to be voted on that night because the meeting was advertised as having no comment period and the public had not been made aware ahead of time that it would be voted on.

“It was not part of the origi-nal agenda and it was not put out to the public as such,” Priest said.

Discussion was also held on the subcommittee that Priest proposed forming, pursuant to school board policy on naming school facilities. In that policy, it states that the school board “may create a committee to make recom-mendations to the board on the naming of any school or school facility.”

School board member Linda Hodges said that she initially supported setting up a com-mittee, but after the “vitriol” she saw at the July 21 meeting and on social media after, “my thoughts on this did change.”

CHARLIE KOENIG / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Proponents for renaming Lee-Jackson Elementary School gathered in front of the Harry M. Ward Auditorium at Mathews High School last Thursday, prior to the Mathews County School Board’s special meeting.

The Three Rivers Health District has accumulated 1,009 cases of COVID-19 since March, an increase since last Wednesday of 53 cases across the 10-county district. Sixty-nine people have been hos-pitalized over that period, an increase of just three since last week, and 16 people have died, one in the past week.

Statewide, 7,056 new cases were added over the past week, for a total of 95,049 altogether. Of those cases, 8,126 people have been hos-pitalized since the beginning of the pandemic, with 388 of those hospitalizations occur-ring during the past week. There were 149 deaths from the virus recorded statewide during the past week, for a to-tal of 2,274.

Testing continues to be brisk in Virginia, with 102,717 PCR tests conducted during the past week for a total of 1,176,180 tests. The positive rate of tests was at 7.2 per-cent statewide on Wednesday morning. In the Three Rivers Health District, 1,357 PCR

tests were conducted during the past week, for a total thus far of 18,843 and a current positive rate of 3.9 percent, down from 4.2 percent last week.

According to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Asso-ciation, there were 1,304 pa-tients with either confirmed or pending cases of COVID in Virginia hospitals on Wednes-day morning, while 12,522 patients had been treated for the illness and discharged. Of the patients currently in the hospital, 283 were hospital-ized in the intensive care unit and 144 were on ventilators.

Ventilator supplies re-mained ample, at 3,074 on hand and 647 in use. There were 3,561 beds available in hospitals statewide on Wednesday morning, with an additional 3,695 beds avail-able under Executive Order 52. Regular ICU beds across the state were at 79 percent occupancy, with an addi-tional 823 surge beds avail-able bringing that percentage down to 53 percent.

Initially, she said, she hoped a committee would be able to bring people together, but the community seems to be too polarized on the issue.

“I don’t want this height-ened anger to define our com-munity,” Hodges said. “I no longer think that’s the route to go,” she said of placing this in the hands of a committee. School board member Des-mond Smith agreed, saying af-ter the last meeting the board should “forego” empaneling a committee. From the number of emails he has received on the matter, Smith said that “it does seem like an issue that has to be handled sooner rather than later.”

The “heightened angst” sur-rounding the issue is over whether to get rid of the name or not; the matter of what the new name would be, if the school board decides to change the name, is not as di-visive, Hodges said.

Superintendent of Schools Nancy Welch pointed out that the board policy states that the school board “may” create a committee, but that it is not mandatory. In addition to the public comment period, and letters and emails to school board members, the division could put a survey online to solicit opinions.

On the technical side, changing the school name in-volves more than the signage. “It’s all about paperwork,” Welch said, with changing bank accounts, notifying vendors, etc. Lee-Jackson El-ementary School is currently listed as the Chesapeake Dis-trict polling place for the up-coming election and changing the name prior to Nov. 3 may create problems for the Board of Elections, Welch noted.

On the issue of putting the matter before voters in the form of a referendum, school board members soundly re-jected the idea. Hodges said that the elected members of the school board have a re-sponsibility and duty to make these types of decisions. Passing it along to the vot-ers because it is controver-sial would be “shirking our

responsibility,” she said, and it would open the door for handing off other difficult de-cisions through referenda in the future.

Earlier in the meeting, when Priest was addressing the committee idea, which would have been an “avenue” for collecting the public’s sugges-tions, he stated emphatically that “as far as making the decision as to whether [the name would be] retained or removed … that decision will be made by these five individ-uals before you.”

Although Priest said al-though he normally doesn’t accept “negative motions,” he would in this case. Hodges made the motion, seconded by Jeanice Sadler, not to move forward with placing this is-sue on the November bal-lot, with that motion passing unanimously.

Priest said that he and his fellow board members wel-come the public’s comments on the proposal, with contact information available on the school division’s website. So far, he said, he’s received over

50 emails on the matter, and has replied to all of them.

Additionally, time will be available during the public comment period at the start of the Aug. 18 meeting. “I ask that everyone that does speak be respectful,” Priest said. “And we will listen to you … at least for three minutes.”

Last Thursday’s meeting was held in the high school’s Harry M. Ward Auditorium, which was given its name in 2003, before the school

board’s adoption of its current policy on naming school facil-ities. That policy, approved in 2015, states that no school or school facility will be named for a living individual and that school facilities may be named for individuals only af-ter they have been deceased for at least 10 years. Ward, a former MHS teacher, coach, principal and division super-intendent of schools, cur-rently resides in Charlottes- ville.

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A)

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LEE-JACKSON: Board set to vote on name change at Aug. 18 monthly meeting

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GLOUCESTER -MATHEWS

Y M C K

6A GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL THURSDAY AUGUST 6, 2020

Gazette-JournalG L O U C E S T E R - M AT H E W S

Elsa Cooke Verbyla | Publisher

Charles E. Koenig | Editor

Published by Tidewater Newspapers Inc.

Gloucester, VA 23061

opinionREADERS WRITE|

Letters To The EditorLetters to the Gazette-Jour-

nal on any subject of public in-terest are always welcome. The newspaper, however, can-not consider for publication a letter which does not carry the writer’s signature and address. Letters should also not exceed 200 words. Writers will please include a telephone number where they can be reached during the day. The right is re-served to edit letters.

The Gazette-Journal will not accept letters to Readers Write which comment on ar-ticles published in other peri-odicals. Also, space limitations often prevent publication of thank-you letters.

Gloucester’s monument should be placed in museumEditor, Gazette-Journal:

For over 400 years, African Americans, Native Americans and other minorities have been treated as less than second-class citizens in a country that was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among those rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But for over 400 years, African Americans, Native Americans and other minori-ties have been denied these basic principles and univer-sal rights which no form of government has the authority to take away.

The Confederate monu-ment that stands on Main Street was unveiled in 1889 to “honor” the Gloucester men who lost their lives during the Civil War between the United States of America and the Confederate States.

The soldiers whose names that are inscribed on this monument were not fighting for justice and equality that is written in the constitution of the United States of America; instead, they were fighting for slave owners who wanted to continue the oppression and enslavement of African Americans and preserving a white supremacist ideology in maintaining the institution of slavery and other forms of systemic racism.

This monument and other Confederate artifacts are a painful reminder to African Americans of the deep-rooted wounds of slavery and over 400 years of oppression. This monument is just one of the many types of Confederate artifacts that are a constant reminder of a white su-premacist ideology found and perpetuated in the old Jim Crow laws which sought to continue to oppress African Americans.

While the erecting of this monument was intended to honor those who fought in the Civil War, it does not rep-resent our American values of who we are as a people today and should be removed from public display on Main Street.

Our neighboring cities and counties such as Newport News, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hamp-ton, Richmond and many other localities around the nation, including Mississippi, have recognized that the Confederate monuments and other Confederate artifacts are symbols of deep hatred, racism and a white suprema-cist ideology, and have begun the process of healing by removing them from public display.

As a resident of Gloucester County, I call upon the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors to fully acknowl-edge the hatred and racism this monument represents and to begin to move toward healing by removing this Confederate monument from Main Street and placing it in a museum where it can be ac-knowledged as a part of our history and not a representa-tion of who we are today!

Albert AliGloucester, Va.

Statues and schoolsEditor, Gazette-Journal:

Conservatively “thinking,” why is it that the ones mak-ing the most noise seem to get all the attention? Where is the silent majority hiding? It’s time to speak up, people. I have a suggestion: Let’s put it on the ballot and give every-one a chance to express their opinion.

S. Harlan BrooksMoon, Va.

It’s time for a changeEditor, Gazette-Journal:

I am writing to support changing the name of Lee-Jackson Elementary School. I don’t consider this a political issue. It is about making an environment where any per-son who enters the building can do so on equal ground, for the education and devel-opment of every student.

My family and in-laws still live in the county and I visit regularly. One Monday morn-ing a few months ago my boss asked about my week-end. I started to describe our visit to Mathews—the quiet beaches and great restau-rants only an hour drive from our office in Richmond. He stopped me, saying that as a Black man he would not be visiting and did not think he was welcome.

We all get used to things the way they are. We stop thinking about their origins or importance. That isn’t the case when a visitor drives through our town. That isn’t

Remembering history not the same as honoring itEditor, Gazette-Journal:

We should never forget our history as Americans and acknowledge that America had invested much in slav-ery. With the first slave ship descending upon Jamestown in 1619, only an hour’s drive from Mathews County, Amer-ica maintained slavery for two centuries before it was destroyed in a bloody Civil War that took nearly 1 million lives and destroyed billions of dollars in property.

It is our moral responsibil-ity to teach new generations about slavery and the war that divided our nation. However, remembering our history is not the same as honoring it. While Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson’s names should live forever in textbooks and our national consciousness, they should never adorn places of honor.

It is well past time to of-ficially change Lee-Jackson Elementary School. Children should not be forced to go to school under the name of men who fought to keep their ancestors enslaved. No child should read in their textbook about what Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson stood for and then walk through the halls of an elementary school honoring their name.

For the people who are not affected by these and other daily reminders of systemic racism, this issue may seem cosmetic. I challenge the school board, however, to consider the history of both confederate generals. In a

A troubling proposal

For more than 230 years, the electoral system of the United States of America has worked pretty much as designed. And for much of that time,

Americans have gone to the polls on the first Tues-day of every fourth November to cast their ballots (or entrusted their vote to the United States Postal Service)—in spite of war, plague or internal strife.

Last week, the current occupant of the White House suggested we should change all that. In a Twitter message (because, apparently, that’s how government business is handled nowadays), Don-ald Trump floated the idea of holding off the 2020 presidential election due to concerns (with no em-pirical evidence to back up his claim) that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud.

“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Vot-ing, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCU-RATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Elec-tion until people can properly, securely and safely vote???” Trump tweeted on July 30.

Trump expressed similar concerns about the in-tegrity of the vote during his 2016 campaign. An exhaustive study of demonstrated cases of ab-sentee or in-person voter fraud conducted by the Washington Post uncovered a grand total of four cases during that election. A woman in Iowa and a man in Texas both voted twice—for Trump—and were caught, as was a Republican election judge in Illinois who cast an absentee ballot for her re-cently deceased husband and a woman in Florida hired to open absentee ballots and caught filling in a bubble for a mayoral candidate. All out of more than 128 million votes cast.

Questioning the integrity of the voting system is one thing. But talking of postponing an election until an as-yet-unspecified date is something else, and frankly smacks of totalitarianism.

If there are legitimate concerns about the secu-rity of the vote, then let’s address that. But doing away with an election by fiat (or tweet) is not the right way to go about it.

Have some confidence in the electoral system and officials who have served our nation well, through wars, social changes, and yes, pandemics.

Feeding the neighborhood

Among the many cancellations due to COVID-19 is the 2020 Food from the Heart annual gathering at White Hall Plantation.

This midsummer event, which features food prep demonstrations in exchange for monetary and food donations, directly benefits people in need in Gloucester County. Last year, Food from the Heart brought in 40 grocery bags and $6,300 for the county’s three food pantries.

We urge anyone with a “heart” for this good work to send donations this year to the Food from the Heart Foundation, 5631 White Hall Road, Gloucester, Va. 23061. Let’s help our neighbors.

True, it is but one of many good events that had to be put off this year … it is also one with an im-mediate impact for people in need.

Here is an aptly-named recipe from 2009’s Food from the Heart, the earliest event we can find in our files. It makes good use of the vegetables now bountiful in local gardens.

FEEDING THE NEIGHBORHOOD SALSA6 Roma tomatoes1 yellow tomato1 orange tomato1 green pepper1 orange pepper1 yellow pepper2 small cans sliced olives2 cans shoepeg corn2 cans black-eyed peasFresh cilantro1 bottle Robusto Italian dressingPinch garlic salt2 tsp. lime juice½ tsp. granulated sugar1 jar of chopped jalapenos (optional)Tortilla chipsSeed and chop all peppers and tomatoes. (Note: If yellow

and orange tomatoes are not available, add a few extra Roma tomatoes.) Transfer to large bowl. Drain the olives and add to the tomatoes and peppers. Add corn and black-eyed peas (un-drained). Chop fresh cilantro to taste and add to the bowl. Add Italian dressing, garlic, salt, lime juice, sugar and jalapenos. Serve with the tortilla chips. Leftover salsa is great served with eggs, fish, chicken or burritos.

Monuments are memorialsEditor, Gazette-Journal:

The War Between the States was over for several years before communities (county and state) recovered enough to think about honoring their lost family members. Besides not having actual bodies to bury, the cost of that many gravestones would be beyond reach. Historically, monu-ments serve that purpose, and each probably had an official document prepared to state the purpose of putting it in a public place.

The ones I have seen, some-times inscribed on the base, typically laud the sacrifices of the soldiers, the suffering of their families and com-munities, and their desire to long remember them. I do not

remember ever seeing one speak of anguish over stop-ping the horrific slave trade, sparing slaves from inhuman treatment, or loss of income from prohibition of slavery.

Only a small percentage of Civil War soldiers, of both sides, actually owned slaves. They did believe that their states had authority to secede from the Union, and state leaders certainly leaned on that point to justify secession so they could keep slavery in force as an eco-nomic necessity. That was 150 years ago. We all get that slavery is morally and legally wrong, and we know that all lives matter.

But the monuments them-selves do not glorify slavery. Leave them alone.

Clyde Gordon SmithLt. Col., U.S. Army-ret.

Hayes, Va.

Leave the monument in placeEditor, Gazette-Journal:

The Mathews Confederate Monument is not a monu-ment to slavery. It is a monu-ment to the brave men and boys who chose to defend the culture of southern Virginia as it existed in the mid-1800s. To assert that the monument is otherwise is to deliberately mischaracterize the monument and the moti-vations of those for whom it stands.

The monument has stood for more than 100 years. In those 100 years, the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified; Jim Crow laws throughout Virginia were struck down as unconstitutional and black Virginians were elected to high office, including the gov-ernorship, the state Senate and to the Board of Supervi-sors of Mathews County. The monument stands as a celebratory symbol of social and political progress.

In the summer of 2020, it has become fashionable in certain lawless circles to demand the striking down of historic cultural symbols and, when such demands are not met, to riot and destroy them.

It seems opportunistic in such socially chaotic times to demand the removal of monuments and symbols that many of us revere.

The centennial of the Mathews monument was in 2012. Where were the peti-tioners to have the monu-ment taken down/removed then? It seems clear that until the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter, Antifa and other groups filtered to the petitioners via liberal news media, that they weren’t disturbed by the monument. Indeed, from the lack of pub-lic comment on the parts of the petitioners in 2012, most people never took notice of the monument.

Certain prominent black citizens have made the claim that the dominant American culture is based on white supremacy and Mathews is no exception to this truth. The claim is utterly false and insulting not only to the members of “the dominant American culture,” but to the legions of successful black men and women who thrive and succeed in that very culture.

Perhaps one might be excused for pointing out the numerous groups that serve to bolster the black commu-nity, including the NAACP, the Congressional Black Cau-cus, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, the National Black Police Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and even the Miss Black America contest, all of which (excepting the NAACP) exclude participation by people with white skins and European ancestry. If there is racism in 2020 America, I submit that it is on the part of the African American com-munity, despite their “woke” rhetoric designed to awaken feelings of guilt in fragile white Americans.

Finally, what about my sen-sibilities … my sympathies … my preferences? My desires, preferences and wants are not subordinate to those of Julia Forrest, Meg Roberts, Charles Forrest and Raymond Willis.

I assert that my views represent the majority of the citizens of Mathews County.

Leave the monument in place!

Michael SanbornNorth, Va.

letter written by Lee to his wife, Lee stated, the “subjuga-tion of the slaves needs to go on longer and only God can free them.” Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in defense of the South’s authority to possess millions of human beings as property because they were black. They were both trai-tors that engaged in armed and violent insurrection against the United States of America.

As the nation reckons with our legacy of white suprema-cy and systemic racial injus-tice, now is the time to topple symbols of racial oppression. I commend Kamilah Turner for creating the petition and leading the charge for the name change of Lee-Jackson Elementary School. I stand with her and other advocates 100 percent. It is unaccept-able that Mathews County continues to honor a man who called the horrors of slavery “painful discipline” of Africans that was “necessary for its instruction as a race.” The enslaved people he owned called him “the worst man I have ever seen.”

I humbly request that Mathews County School Board implement Lee-Jackson Elementary School’s name change this year. Thank you in advance and God bless you all.

Yvette Willis GaitherNorth, Va.

Mathews High School, Class of 1993

SEE READERS WRITE, PAGE 6A

Y M C K


the case when a family con-siders moving to Mathews. That also isn’t the case when kids go on field trips or teachers go to conferences wearing Lee-Jackson El-ementary T-shirts. They are making a public statement that racism isn’t worth fight-ing, that “tradition” is more important than equality.

Removing names and stat-ues is not erasing history. We still have books, museums and excellent history teach-ers to inform students about the past. When the namesake of the school, Robert E. Lee was invited to an event hon-oring those who took part in the battle of Gettysburg, he declined the invitation writing, “I think it wiser not to keep open the sores of war but to follow the ex-amples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife.” Lee didn’t want buildings named after him. He wanted to stop focusing on our divisions and unite as one country—to stand together under one flag. Even if honoring his legacy is your priority, it can best be done by removing his name from our school.

Many people assume this name change only impacts minority students, but it also affects how our white students think about people who look different than them. I understand not wanting to address divisive issues; however, loving our neighbors is more important than avoiding conflict. My niece will start kindergarten in Mathews in the fall of 2021. I look forward to the opportunity to explain the new name of her school and the importance of treating all people with dignity and respect.

If the school board votes to change the name, I can guar-antee that the cost will be funded by private donations

and won’t require taxpayer funds. We don’t want this important cause to impact money available to support our local students.

I encourage citizens of Mathews to support this change by writing letters to the school board and attend-ing the Aug. 18 meeting when they will vote on the issue.

Victoria DrummondMathews High School Class of 2001

Richmond, Va.

Left meeting with more questions than answersEditor, Gazette-Journal:

I left the Mathews County School Board meeting Thursday with more ques-tions than answers. First, I was surprised there was no Pledge of Allegiance. Then Mr. Priest asked for additions and deletions. Dr. Thompson asked for two additions: ad-dition one, to have a referen-dum on the November ballot to change the name of Lee-Jackson Elementary School and two, to vote to change the name of Lee-Jackson Elementary School.

At this point, Mr. Priest began discussing the pros and cons for the two items. He kept referencing that “he” would allow item one to be added to the agenda, but not item two. Per school board policy, this is not his deci-sion to make; it calls for a vote. It became so confusing that I got the impression the members were not sure what they were voting for.

I must point out that Mr. Priest continually used the first person singular pronoun “I” when, in fact, the school board as a whole would be making the decisions.

Next, Mrs. Welch read the school reopening plan. Then Mrs. Welch asked for a “thumbs up” to the plan. Was this a vote, why not? The fact that Mrs. Welch asked for a

“thumbs up” indicated she knew she needed the board’s approval for the plan. Why didn’t Mr. Priest make this an action item on “his” agenda? Surely, the Mathews County Public School Reopening Plan required the approval of the school board.

After a reading of the School Board policy (specifi-cally Advisory Committees, Sec. B, File #BCF), Mr. Priest, again employing the first person singular pronoun, announced he wanted a com-mittee to collect potential names to replace that of Lee-Jackson. Again, there was no vote. So the use of an Advi-sory Committee was never approved by the board. The policy uses the verb “may” in this regard, so a vote was necessary.

It seems the public left the meeting without the neces-sary conclusions to the many questions that were raised. At least Mr. Priest agreed (again first person singular pronoun) to put the Lee-Jackson name change on the agenda for the Aug. 18 meeting.

Ted BrodersonNorth, Va.

All county related concerns should be addressedEditor, Gazette-Journal:

Attention Mathews citi-zens: In reference to the July 28th Board of Supervisors’ meeting, I was asking a ques-tion that was important for safety as well as a possible liability. As a supervisor, sometimes I will have to ask questions that are not easy. All county related concerns should be addressed. Any Mathews County citizen could have also asked this question. Would the out-

come have been the same?I will continue to serve the

citizens of Mathews County for which they have elected me to do. I will address any and all matters that are asked of my constituents. I care about Mathews County, the Mathews Sheriff’s Office, and the Mathews Volunteer Fire Department. I will con-tinue to serve the citizens as a supervisor and a volunteer fireman. Any questions, I will be glad to answer them. Please call 804-384-2044.

Paul Hudgins, memberMathews County Board of Supervisors

Cardinal, Va.

Correct reportingEditor, Gazette-Journal:

My thanks to the Gazette-Journal for getting the correct information in your article about the Mathews school board meeting in the July 23 issue to discuss changing the name of Lee-Jackson School.

During my short comment period, another publication quoted me as saying that “I never had any problems with segregation,” followed by referring to me as “white.” My actual words were that “I never had any problems with integration.” This publishing error has caused me a considerable amount of heartache, as you might expect. I have never been in support of segregation. I have requested a retraction, but who reads retractions?

My comments regarding the name change were in opposition only because the students and teachers desperately need funding for more immediate concerns. For example, families with limited funds cannot afford to have their children join a music or sports program. Instrument and equipment rentals are expensive, but

the benefits can be life-changing. It would be wiser for the school to direct any available funds to help these students.

These discussion meetings are important for a commu-nity and sloppy reporting can add unnecessary fuel to concerns. Again, thank you for your correct reporting.

Diana L. TurnerMathews, Va.

America, we have a problemEditor, Gazette-Journal:

America, we have a prob-lem. The Democrat Party, using the liberal press, anar-chists, the Communist Party, ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter and liberal college profes-sors, is trying to destroy our country, all for power.

Yes, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Cory Booker, AOC, Maxine Waters and the rest of the party are trying to elect a man who they will have complete con-trol of as president. To main-tain freedom in America, we must not let this happen.

Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” The time has arrived that good men step up to the plate and pro-tect our Constitution from evil anarchists. I am damn tired of being called a racist for being white. Slavery in this country ended 155 years ago. We are now all equal under the Constitution. How-ever, the Democrat Party wants to use race as a tool to divide and conquer and gain power in this country.

Anyone who has seen or heard Joe Biden speak knows he is a few French fries short of a happy meal. Biden will be a puppet of the radical left and make America look like Venezuela. Not only must we reelect President Trump,

we must maintain the Sen-ate and give him a victory by getting rid of (rip up the speech) Nancy Pelosi. In fact, we need to replace Democrat governors, mayors and city aldermen to bring back law and order to our country.

Let’s not open our borders, defund the police, send jobs overseas, tear down art and statues, kneel for the National Anthem and stop producing oil. Let’s “Make America Great Again” by voting Republican and end sanctuary cities. This is war and we must win to save the Republic.

God bless America.Ralph White (USN-ret.)

Hattiesburg, Miss.Formerly of Gloucester

We are not born to killEditor, Gazette-Journal:

Is any government of the world over God’s word? Did God’s word give King Herod the right to arrest and kill John the Baptist? Did God’s word give King Herod the right after the resurrection of Jesus Christ to arrest Peter and to kill James, the brother of John?

Now look at Dr. King. Did God’s word give our govern-ment the right to arrest, judge and beat Dr. King with our tax money?

A man is a baby before he becomes a man. We were all born into this world to die and we all were some mother’s baby before we became men and women.

Now look at God’s son. Who did he arrest, judge and kill when he became a man? That is why I say any baby that kills a man when he be-comes a man is a murderer.

I am banned from all gov-ernment buildings for saying this in Gloucester County.

Ronald L. PaigeGloucester, Va.


READERS WRITE|

AVFR PHOTO

Two members of Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s Marine Response Team, man Boat 3 during the rescue of six stranded boaters.

BY TYLER BASS

Six stranded boaters were rescued by members of the Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s Marine Response Team on Monday afternoon after the boaters experienced engine failure and were forced to beach their vessel on Allen’s Island off Bena, ac-cording to public information officer Rob Parlett.

At 1 p.m. Monday, AVFR received a request for assis-tance from the York County Department of Fire and Life Safety to respond to the boat that was forced onto the is-land by a storm.

AVFR launched Boat 2, a 25-footer, and Boat 3, a Zodiac class vessel, to assist York County’s Marine 1, a 34-foot vessel. The small size of AV-FR’s Zodiac allowed them to maneuver close to the island and rescue the six individuals.

The six were transported to Crown Pointe Marina at Hayes

TYLER BASS / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Cruising the YorkThe schooner Alliance was cruising the waters of the York River near the Coleman Bridge on Monday, a day before Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the region and sent this Yorktown-based vessel and other boats back to the safety of their home port.

Made in Mathews tour to go on as planned

Birthday craftsEloise Leslie celebrated her eighth birthday on Thursday, July 30, at the Bay School Community Arts Center in Mathews, where instructor Jennifer Schroeder helped Eloise and her friends make birthday crafts. In lieu of gifts, Eloise asked her friends to consider a donation to the Bay School Children’s Program.

The 2020 Made in Mathews Studio Tour is scheduled to go on as planned, announced chair Lynn Abrams.

This year the tour will on two weekends, and will be conducted virtu-ally through the Bay School website and the artists’ own e-commerce stories. In ad-dition, if state mandates on COVID-19 remain in Stage 3, many of the artists’ stu-dios will be open, with face masks and social distancing required, Abrams said.

“With the addition of the second weekend we hope to spread the attendance out so everyone has a chance to come enjoy the open stu-dios,” she said.

Dates and hours will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 27 and 28,

noon-5 p.m. Nov. 29, and the next weekend, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 5 and noon-5 p.m. Dec. 6.

New artists will be Ned and Dia Lawless of Bay Dream Designs, Tammy Rollins of Moonstruck Soap, Buz Rol- lins of Bloodys by Buz, Kar-en Pittman, The Bay School, Mathews Visitor Center and P. Buckley Moss.

Returning artists are Lynn Abrams of D’lynn Glass, Gib Pulley of Watercolors by Gib, Donald Grantham of Harbor-wood Studio, Jane Pittman of Fine Arts Studio and Gal-lery, Sam Forrest of Sam For-rest Furniture, and Larry and Rosalie Brown of Bentwaters Farm.

Abrams said announce-ments will be made on the website madeinmathews.com and Facebook. No brochures will be printed, she said.

AVFR comes to aid of stranded boaters

on Boats 2 and 3, and Marine 1 towed the beached vessel back to shore. None of the rescued passengers needed

medical attention. Parlett said that the mission was a great group effort from Abingdon and York County.

Bypass and headed back to the intersection where he was stopped by officers in the Walmart parking lot. He exited his vehicle holding a knife but the officers were able to subdue him without injury to anyone.

The GSO also said there were false reports of an active shooter in the area. “This was a very chaotic scene and there were several reports of a shooter in this area which resulted in deputies interacting with several innocent citizens as a result of this information being sent into our dispatch center,” according to the GSO press release.

“We are again happy to report that no injuries were sustained by anyone as a result of the swift actions by our deputies. We apologize for any inconvenience this incident may have caused to patrons in this area.”

Arrested was Ben Roland McMurtray, 20, of Easy Street at Dutton. He was charged with the felony of, after having received a visible or audible signal from a law enforcement officer to stop, driving a motor vehicle in a willful and wanton disregard of such signal so as to interfere with or endanger the operation of the law enforcement vehicle or endanger a person.

McMurtray was also charged with the misdemeanor of disorderly conduct in a public place and was issued three summonses for failing to obey a stop sign and summonses for failing to drive only to the right of the central island while passing through a circular intersection, failing to obey a traffic light, failing to drive on the right side of the road and stopping in such a manner as to impede or render dangerous the use of the highway by others.


POLICE PURSUIT:

Ends peacefully

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Bethel Beach in Mathews was blocked off by a lone fell tree, preventing any brave beach-goers from seeing the bay during Tropical Storm Isaias.


This home on Bethel Beach Road saw a few of its trees succumb to the might of Tropical Strom Isaias early Tuesday morning.


The Winter Harbor Public Landing in Mathews became a safe haven for seagulls weathering out Tropical Storm Isaias.

Grace VanBuskirk of Mathews strikes a happy pose in the driving rain and super high tide of Tropical Storm Isaias at 8 a.m. Tuesday on Put-In Creek. She is stand-ing on the dock of her grandparents, Nina and Pete Guy of Mathews.

On Wednesday morning, that number had dropped to 2,300. Major also said that there was an apparent tornado touch-down in the area of Taliafer-ro Lane near Rosewell. The National Weather Service is expected to visit the area to assess the damage and make the final determination.

Residents of Aberdeen Creek were seen late Tuesday morning milling about their neighborhood checking out the storm damage to several homes.

Sonja Owens got an alert on her cell phone for a tornado warning around 5 a.m. She and her husband decided to hunker down and take precautions. Owens said that soon after taking shelter they

heard wind and the snapping of tree limbs.

Residents of the neighborhood were unaware exactly how much damage was being done outside their homes at the time. Evan Farmer said that he was sure that a tornado had touched down because only tornadoes twist trees into breaking.

Luckily, no one was injured but significant damage resulted to the homes and property in the area. A tree broke over the roof of a vacant house, causing structural damage. A nearby shed was completely engulfed by the branches of a fallen tree.

Gov. Ralph Northam had declared a state of emergency for Virginia on Friday before the storm.

MELANY SLAUGHTER / GAZETTE-JOURNAL

A tree was uprooted during Tuesday morning’s storm and fell in front of a residence on Aberdeen Creek Road in Gloucester.


ISAIAS: Swift-moving storm causes damage, power outages

Tropical Storm Isaias leaves its mark on Gloucester, Mathews

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THURSDAY AUGUST 6, 2020 GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL 9A Obituaries

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VIRGINIA LEWIS KERNSVirginia Lewis Kerns, 85,

passed away on Aug. 2, 2020. She was born on Oct. 19, 1934 in Mathews, and made her home in Gloucester.

Virginia retired from the Gloucester County Building Inspector’s Office in 1996. She was a longtime member of Bellamy United Methodist Church.

She was predeceased by her parents, Ira L. and Minnie S. Lewis; six brothers, Harold C. Lewis, Harry S. Lewis, J. Lester Lewis, Ralph B. Lewis, William E. Lewis, and Arthur L. Lewis.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Robert V. Kerns; two sons, Robert V. Kerns Jr. (Diana), and Lewis A. Kerns (Tammy); 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a brother-in-law, Martin H. Kerns; a sister-in-law, Josephine K. Robins, and several nieces and nephews.

“Memaw” was truly the definition of strength, determina-tion, and love. She was most proud of her family, especially her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She relished their vis-its and accomplishments. She will forever reside in our hearts and memories.

The family would like to express sincere appreciation and gratitude to our extended family of caregivers who have taken such good care of Memaw over the years, allowing her to stay in her home and lead a meaningful life throughout immense challenges.

The family would also like to thank Dr. Haggerty and his staff at Direct Access Internal Medicine, and the ICU staff at Walter Reed Hospital for their loving care.

Due to the coronavirus, services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to

Bellamy United Methodist Church, or the Gloucester or Abing-don Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squads.

Arrangements by Andrews Funeral Home and Crematory, Gloucester.

WILLIAM GALLOWAYWilliam Galloway (Bill/

Wullie), age 97, of Hayes, went home to be with his Savior on July 31, 2020, surrounded by his family. Bill was born in New Gal-loway, Scotland, and immi-grated to the United States (Gloucester) in 1963 with his wife and four children to pursue the American Dream. Bill’s family name Galloway denotes the Southwestern district of Scotland, where the family has lived for centuries. Bill retired from Mercedes-Benz Hampton Truck Assembly

Plant; he was a farmer, self-taught carpenter, electrician, and auto mechanic (Volkswagens were his specialty). For many years he taught Scottish Country Dancing in his home, in addition to a founding member and treasurer for Gloucester Scottish Country Dance Club. He never forgot his Scottish heritage and was proud to be an American citizen. A gen-tle, kind man always willing to help others and the oldest member of Beech Grove Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Betty Harkness Galloway; parents, Benjamin and Annie Mcllwraith Galloway; sister, Ja-net Kilpatrick Taylor; brother, John Galloway, and son-in-law, Ronald Oliver. He is survived by his four children, Ann Oliver (Paul), Ben Galloway (Marie), David Galloway and Sylvia Oli-ver; four grandsons, Richard and Brian Oliver, Christopher and Brandon Galloway; five great-grandchildren, Kaylee Dutton (David), Kelsee, Kollin, Matthew, and Jonathan Oli-ver; a sister, Annie Murdoch of New Galloway, Scotland, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. A graveside service was held on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, at 10 a.m. in Rosewell Memorial Garden Cemetery. Friends were requested to as-semble at the cemetery; social distancing is mandatory. In memory of our loved one, contributions may be made to Beech Grove Baptist Church, Building Fund, P.O. Box 468, White Marsh, Va. 23183.

Services under the direction of Hogg Funeral Home.

LOIS WINDER HUDGINSLois Winder Hudgins, 96,

of Gwynn’s Island, Virginia, beloved wife of Willard R. “Buster” Hudgins Jr., went to be with her Lord Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. She was born in Greenfield, Massachu-setts, on Sept. 16, 1923. She graduated from Greenfield High School and attended the College of William and Mary. She was employed by Colonial Williamsburg for many years, was a longtime member of Mathews Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir and was a mem-ber of the “Silvertones.”

She earned the nickname “Moose” while playing third base for the church softball team. She was loved and respected by everyone who knew her, even the teenagers in the Sun-day school classes she taught, who lovingly nicknamed her “The Warden.” Lois supported the community whenever she could, delivering Meals on Wheels, visiting the shut-ins or whenever called upon. She was predeceased by her loving husband of more than 76 years, Buster.

She is survived by her daughter, Linda Lawrence; her son, Willard R. “Buddy” Hudgins III and his wife Diane; her loving and devoted grandson, Jonathan Walker Hudgins, and loving grand-dog, Sammy.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, at 2 p.m. at Mathews Baptist Church, Hudgins, Virginia, with burial to follow in H.C. Smither Cemetery. State guidelines for appropriate face covering will be observed.

Faulkner Funeral Homes, Foster-Faulkner Chapel, Mathews, Va., is assisting the family.

JOSEPH NELSON LEWISJoseph Nelson Lewis, 91,

of Grimstead, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. Joe retired as a boat captain from C & O Railroad. He was a member of Gwynn’s Is-land Baptist Church, Coast Guard Auxiliary, a lifetime member of the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Department, and the Masonic Lodge, Achilles, Virginia. Joe Joe was an avid pool player and could always be found on his boat the 3 M’s or grab-bing a bite to eat while vis-iting the ladies at Linda’s Diner.

He is survived by two daughters, Melanie Morgan and Margaret Norman (Keith); three grandsons, Derek Leaver, Nick Leaver (Crystal) and Jason Robins (Lindsay); five great-grandchildren, Julian Leaver, Hayden Leaver, Jessie Leaver, Lyza Robins, and Sunny Robins.

Graveside services were held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, at Gwynn’s Island Cemetery, Gwynn, Va. Fam-ily received friends from 1:30-2 prior to the service at the cemetery. Faulkner Funeral Homes, Foster-Faulkner Chapel, Mathews, Virginia, assisted the family. Please be advised that current state-mandated guidelines applied to all in at-tendance, including social distancing and appropriate face covering. We sincerely appreciate your understanding.

DONNA LUE STONEDonna Lue Stone, 88, of

Hallieford, died July 22, 2020.

She was born in Leaks-ville, North Carolina, and was raised in Virginia. She graduated from Washington and Lee High School in Ar-lington.

Survivors include her chil-dren, Bruce Carter, Melanie Carter and Patricia Carter, and five grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Elva Marion Brooks Hughes and Elijah Broaddus Hughes; her hus-band, James R. Stone, and a

brother, Derek Van Hughes.She will be buried next to her husband in Arlington Na-

tional Cemetery at a later date.Memorial contributions may be made to Bay School Com-

munity Arts Center, P.O. Box 1524, Mathews, Va. 23109.

LOIS RUTH BELVIN KINGLois Ruth Belvin King,

age 98, died on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at her home in Hayes. A native of Mathews County, Lois graduated from New Point High School. She was a homemaker and later worked for many years as the office manager in Binn’s Fashion Shop, Williamsburg, where she thoroughly en-joyed her fellow employees, clientele, the local area and made many friends. She was a lifelong member of Union Bap-tist Church and in later years often attended Gloucester Point Baptist Church; an ac-

tive member of the Eastern Star, she enjoyed traveling in Eu-rope, North Africa, Israel and many parts of the U.S. She had a good sense of humor, was an excellent cook, avid reader, and loved animals as well as children. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Roy King; two sons, Robert Wayne King and Joseph Roy King Jr.

Lois is survived by her daughter, Jennings Sharon Heywood; sister, Carrie Ann Poe; granddaughter, Stephanie Booker (Roane); great-granddaughters, Morgan and Andrea Booker; nieces, Connie Shelton (Preston), Cynthia H. Bradley and Brenda B. Hudgins (William). A graveside funeral service, con-ducted by Pastor Richard Whiteheart, was held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Rosewell Memorial Garden Cemetery. Friends were asked to assemble at the cemetery. Services un-der the direction of Hogg Funeral Home. Please visit www.hog-gfh.com to share condolences and memories.

JOYCE R. OWENSJoyce R. Owens, 82, of

Gloucester, died July 30, 2020. She was born on Dec. 6, 1937 to the late Robert and Lelia El-lis in Petersburg.

Survivors include her husband of 32 years, Joe K. Owens; her son, Jefferey R. Parker; daughters, Linda P. Williams and Pamela J. Mul-lins; her stepson, John K. Ow-ens; her stepdaughters, Joann K. Vann, Janet K. Brazeal, J. Kristy Owens, and J. Kim Mar-tinez; 26 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

DEBORAH ISOBEL PERRYDeborah Isobel Perry,

70, of Mathews, was called home to the Lord on Tues-day, July 28, 2020, at home surrounded by her children. Debby was born in Wind-sor, Nova Scotia, Canada, on May 18, 1950 to Ralph Parsons and Elizabeth Mary Cochrane. She was a parishioner at the Church of St. Francis de Sales in Mathews. Debby was an ac-tive member in her church, teaching Sunday school and taking time for missions, es-pecially in Haiti. When her

children were young, she could be found on the sidelines of every softball and soccer game and at every chorus concert, cheering the loudest. She helped many young ladies as a Girl Scout leader and camp counselor for Brownie Troop 1263 and Junior Troop 379 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, rooting for them every chance she got. Debby was always happiest with her family, espe-cially her grandchildren. Her greatest titles were Wife, Mom, and Gramma.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Fran-cis Perry; her parents, and sister, Wendy Maxie. She is sur-vived by her three children: daughter, Rachael and her hus-band, Greg Lumpkin, and their children Savannah and Fred of Chesterfield; daughter, Rebecca and her husband Joe Molnar, and their children Tommy and Kaitlyn of Cary, North Carolina; and son, Rich Perry and his children, Audrina and Raiden of Mathews, and two sisters, Helen MacDonald and Lois MacAskill.

A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at the Church of St. Francis de Sales on Lovers Lane in Mathews on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, at 1 p.m. Please notify the church office at 804-725-2776 if you plan to attend. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions may be made to the Juvenile Di-abetes Research Foundation, 291 Independence Boulevard, Suite 517, Virginia Beach, Va. 23462. Please be advised that current state-mandated guidelines will apply to all in atten-dance, including social distancing and appropriate face cov-ering. We sincerely appreciate your understanding.

Faulkner Funeral Homes, Foster-Faulkner Chapel, Mathews, is assisting the family.

ROONIE (DONNA) STONEA dear friend is someone you never let go, they stay in

your heart in that “keepsake” place even after their passing. Such is the case with Roonie (Donna) Stone.

Friends and family will stow away that vibrant red hair, generous laugh, coy glance, mischievous manner, and written witticism. Colorful in life as well as dress, wearing purples, pinks, and ocean tones, while holding her artist’s brush in one hand, a wine glass in the other—she coated her canvases in forests and vines, birds and nymphs, fairies and trolls. Her vivid imagination saw beyond the now, and her cheery attitude helped her rise above mundane trials. She will be sorely missed and we pray she made her way to soar with the angels.

-by Pam Manz, fellow artist

MARILYN TOWNSEND HUDGINSMarilyn Townsend Hudgins,

age 84, of Gloucester Point, passed away surrounded by her family and friends at her home on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020. In 2001, Marilyn retired from VIMS, Gloucester Point, where she worked in Ac-counts Payable. She loved to travel with her family, espe-cially taking cruise vacations with her family and cruising buddy, Gail Reardon. She al-ways had a sense of adven-ture, and went parasailing at the age of 80. Outside of va-cationing, she will be remem-bered as an excellent cook,

and her family will miss her Sunday pot roast. She was a mem-ber of Bethany United Methodist Church where she served for many years as church secretary. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Leslie Hudgins, and her mother, Julia Townsend. Survivors include her daughter, Cindy Hornsby (Robert); two grandchildren, Robert Hornsby Jr. (Samantha), Morgan H. Mireles (Alberto); three great-grandchildren, Mi-randa, Dominic and James. The family will receive friends at Hogg Funeral Home on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, from 6-7:30 p.m. A graveside service conducted by the Rev. Mike Derflinger will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Rosewell Me-morial Garden Cemetery. In memory of Marilyn, contributions may be made to Abingdon Volunteer Fire & Rescue, P.O. Box 9, Bena, Va. 23018. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, masks are re-quired and social distancing is mandatory.


JIMMY LEE HOGGEJimmy Lee Hogge, age 73,

of Hayes, passed away on July 22, 2020 after a cou-rageous battle with can-cer. He was an avid golfer who loved hitting the links with all his golfing buddies (Mike, Ray, Herb, Pitt and others). Through the years, he played in various tour-naments which he truly en-joyed. He also loved being on the water and fishing, his second passion. Jimmy also loved raising a big garden, so he could share with fam-ily and friends. He retired from NWS Yorktown after 39

years of service as an ordnance supervisor. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edith and Steve

Hogge of Glass. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Angela (Angie) Hogge; two children, Jimmy Lee Jr. and Nancy Lynn; three siblings, Robert Hogge, Sylvia Marcum of Gloucester, and JoAnne Weimar of Florida. A special thank-you to River-side Hospice (Susan and Joel). In lieu of flowers, please do-nate to American Cancer Society, 4240 Park Place Court, Glen Allen, Va. 23060. A memorial service was held at Andrews Funeral Home & Crematory on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 1 p.m.

LINDA GALE BATTSLinda Gale Batts, 69, of Gloucester, passed away on 31 July

2020, after a long illness. Linda was born in Hinton, West Virginia. on 30 September 1950.

Linda is survived by her sister, Beverley Morris; sons, Steve Andresen (Kim), James Andresen (Amy), Daniel An-dresen (Champa), Nathan Batts Jr.; six grandchildren, Heather Andresen, Jefferey Andresen, Bradley Batts, Leland Batts, Evelyn Andresen, Carter Andresen, and other family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society. Andrews Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10A)

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In memoryof

Camden Martin Adkins

12/05/2012 ~ 08/08/2018

Two years ago, August 8, 2018, our lives changed forever.Our precious Camden “Camshaft” went to be with Jesus.Camden brought joy and happiness everywhere he went.

He never met a stranger. In his short 5 1/2 years he lived life to the fullest.

He touched many hearts & left many wonderful memories.Although our hearts are heavy and we miss him every minute of every day, we are so thankful

for the time we had with him.Don’t ever take life for granted. In the blink of an

eye everything can change.

Your Loving Family and Friends

In memory ofAlicia Marie MarshAug. 6, 1976~April 7, 2020

We’ve shed a tear every daysince you left us but we know

you are safe in the arms of God.We miss you and love you!Mom, Dad, Sondra, Jessie,

Alana, J.T.,Nieces and Nephew

IN MEMORIAM|

CAM GREGORY WILLIAMSCam Gregory Williams will

not be gardening today, nor providing for all creatures, great and small, at the Gloucester-Mathews Hu-mane Society, nor spreading joy in her zany costumes to nursing home residents and staff. She will no longer be teaching dance and cho-reographing at her mom’s dance studio in Norfolk, Vir-ginia, nor writing loving and encouraging notes to us all, nor cheering and support-ing UVA HOOS, nor arrang-ing flowers picked from her Dunham Massie gardens

that she so lovingly planted. Cam will not be attending the July 4th celebration at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church decked out in her red, white, and blue apparel. She will not be a partner in crime as she has been for 74 years with her best friends, MaryAnn Luke and Rita Joyner. Cam will not be gathering with her friends from Furman University for their Memorial Day Weekend, a tradition they shared for over 45 years. She will not be sharing memories, stories or ideas with her childhood friend whom she considered her brother, Anthony Kehayas and his wife Sarah and their three daugh-ters. But she will be joining Dean, her beloved husband for 54 years, and her precious parents, Cameron and Eva May Gregory. On July 31, 2020, Cam with her loving spirit, cou-rageous heart, and determined mind went to be with her Lord. As her dear cousin, Annie Rex, wrote, “our world has lost a ‘force of nature’ but we shall treasure the memories.” Cam was not only a force of nature but also a force of love, friendship, humor, inclusiveness, and goodwill to all. She made our world better and inspired us to do the same. One of her favorite Winston Churchill quotes was “Reach out to others… feel deeply… think freely… enjoy simply… follow God’s commandments.” Cam personified these words with her whole being. Cam is survived by her cherished dogs, Hannah and Amanda, a multitude of cousins, godchildren, friends, animals she has saved and loved and her devoted, loving Dunham Massie family: Chris Brown, Gretchen Brown, Rosalie Brown, Estelle England and Cindy Gebhard.

A celebration of Cam will be held as soon as we can all safely gather together, hopefully sometime in the autumn. Contributions in Cam’s memory may be made to the Glouces-ter-Mathews Humane Society, P.O. Box 385, Gloucester, Va. 23061 (mailing); 6620 Jackson Lane, Gloucester, Va. 23061 (physical). Website: gmhumanesociety.org.


LISA GAIL WRIGHTLisa Gail Wright, age 51, of Gloucester, died at her home

on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Lisa loved gardening, shop-ping, bird-watching, the Dallas Cowboys and NASCAR. She is survived by her husband, John Wright; two children, Am-ber and Keegan; parents, Charles and Marion Owen, and a brother, Chuck Owen.

Services will be private. Arrangements under the direction of Hogg Funeral Home.

SHIRLEY STOKES TARTERShirley Stokes Tarter, a

Gloucester native, passed away on July 26, 2020 at her home in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania.

She was born Oct. 6, 1935 to Hayes and Mabel Stokes, now deceased. She was baptized at an early age at First Morning Star Baptist Church, Bena, Virginia.

Shirley graduated from Gloucester Training School and Morgan State College. Shirley was a social worker for the city of Philadelphia for 40 years. She loved to travel, visit family in Vir-

ginia, sew, help others and was a member of St. Paul Baptist Church under the Rev. Dr. Leslie D. Callahan.

Shirley and Donald W. Tarter were married in Philadelphia and had one daughter, Lisa, and granddaughter, Sacajawea and stepson, Donald Tarter Jr.

She leaves to cherish her memory: sister, Joyce Braxton; daughter, Lisa; granddaughter, Sacajawea; nephews, Mi-chael, Stafford Jr. and Shawn, and aunt, Mrs. Christene Boyd; a host of other nieces, nephews, friends and family.

OBITUARIES|(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9A)

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THURSDAY

BOOK MOBILE: The Mathews Memorial Library Youth Book Mobile will make three stops today, Thursday, Aug. 6, to bring books to children across the county: Mathews YMCA from 10-10:30 a.m., Cobbs Creek Post Office from 10:45-11:15 a.m., and North Post Of-fice from 11:30 a.m. to noon.

THURSDAY

PLANNING COMMISSION: The Gloucester County Plan-ning Commission will meet at 7 o’clock tonight at the T.C. Walker Education Center.

S C H O O L B O A R D : T h e Gloucester County School Board will hold its annual re-treat from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, electronically. The meeting will be broadcast live on Cox channel 47 and can

Genealogical group meets virtually Saturday

The Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Virginia will hold a virtual meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday. Those participating in the meeting will have the opportunity to share genealogical successes and discov-eries, as well as roadblocks encountered to better help each other in their searches.

To request an invitation for the virtual meeting or for more information about MPAAGHS, call 804-758-5163.

Coming EvEntsFor listings, call 804-693-3101 or email [email protected]

PUBLIC CALENDAR|

also be viewed at www.glouces-terva.info/GCTV.

WEDNESDAY

FLOODPLAIN COMMITTEE: The Floodplain Management Com-mittee will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Emer-gency Operations Center.W E T L A N D S B O A R D : T h e Gloucester County Wetlands Board will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m. in the colonial courthouse.

NEXT THURSDAY

BZA: The Mathews County Board of Zoning Appeals will meet at 7 p.m. next Thursday, Aug. 13, in the historic courthouse on Court Street.

JOINT MEETING: The Gloucester Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission will hold a joint meeting at 7 p.m. next Thursday, Aug. 13, at the T.C. Walker Education Center.

COMMUNITY GROUPS|

Brent and Becky’s activities for August

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester has announced lineup of activities for this month.

—10 a.m. Saturday, Gloucester Master Garden-ers will give garden tips and more;

—10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, the Colonial Bee-keepers Association will be at the business to celebrate National Honey Bee Day. The talk Honey Bee 101 will be

presented at 11 a.m., and ac-tivities are planned for chil-dren, with local honey and other products offered for sale. To sign up, call 804-693-3966.

—Thursday, Aug. 20, 10 a.m.-noon, “Fun with Fire-flies” is a program for youth. The session will include games, lessons, crafts and garden exploration. The cost is $10 per child; call 804-693-3966 to sign up.

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THURSDAY AUGUST 6, 2020 GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL 11A SchoolS

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Get Your Child Ready For School!

Mathews County schools to begin year with almost entirely remote learning

BY CHARLIE KOENIG

While Mathews County Pub-lic Schools will be open for the 2020-2021 school year, and the calendar has not changed, the day-to-day schedule will look much different as the division continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the exception of two classroom days that each stu-dent in grades K-8 may attend, the first nine weeks of instruc-tion will be entirely virtual.

The first day of school re-mains Monday, Aug. 31, but students in grades 9-12 will be learning remotely from the start and at least through Nov. 9.

The rest of the division’s student body will also be at-tending classes virtually, ex-cept for a two-week period at the start of the year. Super-intendent of Schools Nancy Welch briefed school board members and the community on the reopening plans during a special meeting last Thurs-day night in the Harry M. Ward Auditorium at Mathews High School.

“This is not ideal; this is not what we want,” said Welch. But, given the circumstances with the ongoing pandemic, “it looks like it’s what’s best for the kids,” said school board

member Bambi Thompson. “I think it’s great that they [the K-8 students] do get to meet their teachers,” she added, and have the opportunity to go over the online platform for the rest of instruction.

Students in grades K-8 will be divided into two cohorts or groups, as determined by the individual schools. And, during those first two weeks of school (Aug. 31-Sept. 10), each group may meet with their teacher(s) face-to-face at school two days each. Group A will be able to attend school on Monday, Aug. 31 and Tues-day, Sept. 8. Group B will at-tend on Wednesday, Sept. 2 and Thursday, Sept. 10.

Welsh said that they will make every attempt to ensure that siblings are scheduled on the same days in what she called the “Nine-at-a-Time” plan (referring to the reduced class size for those sessions).

The decision about wheth-er individual students will attend those in-person ses-sions is “completely a parent choice,” Welch said.

Parents are requested to provide transportation on those days. Families needing school transportation will need to make a request to the child’s school by Wednesday,

Aug. 12.The K-8 students will transi-

tion to remote/virtual instruc-tion on Friday, Sept. 11, and continue in that fashion until the end of the first nine-week marking period (Nov. 2).

The decision whether to continue instruction in the virtual environment will be made on a nine-week basis, with a reassessment of condi-tions taking place the week of Oct. 12.

“It is truly our desire to open schools in a traditional model or a hybrid alternating sched-ule while providing choices for our families,” Welch said. “However, new guidance from the Virginia Department of Health indicates significant in-creases in COVID-19 positive cases in our region. The trend is extremely concerning and presents an unprecedented risk to the school commu-nity.”

Students will engage in five days of instruction and con-tent that will mirror the tra-ditional school day “to the greatest extent possible,” Welch said. Faculty and staff will work from the school sites Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurs-days and Fridays. Wednesday will be an “E-Day” for faculty/staff and students. Teachers may work from home or in

the school that day, engaged in professional development. Students will engage in inde-pendent learning activities.

Open House canceledThe Aug. 26 Open House

event has been canceled. Each school is coming up with its own Open House schedule that protects students and adults to the greatest extent possible. In most cases, indi-vidual grade levels will hold Open House events on the same evening, with other grade levels on other nights. Some grade levels will make individual and/or small group appointments with families. Each school will send out de-tailed information to families in the near future.

Welch said that instruction will look very different from the spring, when schools were forced to close sudden-ly. “We are no longer in crisis mode,” she said. “Our teach-ers will deliver new content remotely” through Canvas or Google Classroom. Addition-ally, remote live and recorded instruction will be available through Zoom or Google Meet. Work will be required and graded and report cards will reflect the grades and at-tendance as is the standard.

Director’s AwardThe Thomas Hunter Middle School band program didn’t get to have its typical spring awards program, but late last month band director Michael Loveless was able to present his Director’s Award to Madeline Miller. Miller has been part of the band program for the last three years. A trumpet player, she made Area Band in 2019 and 2020. She also placed in the District 8 Band in 2020. “She has grown a tremendous amount over the last three years in band and is a true representative of what it means to be a Seahawk,” Loveless said.

‘Stuff the Bus’ at Gloucester Walmart

this weekendWalmart and the Salvation Army are teaming up to pro-

vide new school supplies to children in need in Gloucester and Mathews counties during a “Stuff the Bus” campaign event Friday through Sunday at the Gloucester Walmart.

When shoppers visit Walmart on those days, they can purchase and drop off requested items at the Salvation Army collection bins in front of the store.

“There are many children in Gloucester and Mathews counties whose parents will have to make the tough choice between school supplies, groceries, the electric bill or in-surance,” said Nicole Watson, case manager for the Sal-vation Army’s Gloucester Service Center. “We anticipate this number will increase significantly this year due to the novel coronavirus.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Salvation Army has provided more than 65 million meals through a com-bination of prepared meals and food boxes, 1.45 million nights of safe shelter, and emotional and spiritual support to more than 778,000 people, in addition to the financial assistance, hygiene kits and youth programs the organiza-tion provides in almost every zip code in America, a re-lease stated.

All donations made at “Stuff the Bus” events will remain in the community to help the Salvation Army provide back-to-school support to Gloucester and Mathews children in need. The Gloucester collection is one of more than 4,500 similar events taking place at Walmart stores across the country.

BY MELANY SLAUGHTER

Mathews County Public Schools has been busy this summer updating classrooms, repainting hallways and creat-ing front-entrance vestibules.

According to Schools Su-perintendent Nancy Welch, security vestibules have been built at the front entrances of Mathews High School and Thomas Hunter Middle School.

Each vestibule has a pair of glass doors and will act as an entrapment area to prevent people from accessing the entire building. A window at each school will also be in-stalled in the front office. Both vestibules are in the finishing stages.

All of the hallways at MHS have been repainted this summer along with its gym. Two of the faculty bathrooms have been refurbished and the school is even going to re-place an HVAC burner.

Three of the fifth-grade classrooms at THMS received makeovers this summer. The classrooms were completely gutted and received fresh paint, new floor and ceiling tiles and LED light fixtures. The old radiators were also torn out.

The summer maintenance projects will be completed within the next few weeks

MHS and THMS near completion of summer maintenance projects

Mathews High School and Thomas Hunter Middle School will each have a completed front entrance, security vestibule by the end of summer. Shown above is the MHS vestibule.

Y M C K

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Deltas fall to

Smokies, defeat

DodgersBY STEPHEN BLUE

The Deltaville Deltas dropped a difficult game to the league’s number one seed, Richmond Smokies, before rebounding to rout the Richmond Dodgers in their games last weekend.

With the win and loss, Deltaville falls to 8-2 in league play, and 10-3 over-all. The Deltas currently sit in third place, behind the one-loss Team Woody and Smokies.

Deltaville will look to re-bound this weekend, with a Thursday night road game against the Richmond Brew-ers, and a Saturday night re-match with the Smokies at Deltaville Ballpark.

Smokies 7, Deltas 4Three Deltas had multi-

hit games, leading Delta-ville to an 8-7 advantage in hits, but a series of costly defensive errors doomed them to defeat last Thurs-day night, as they fell to the Richmond Smokies by the score of 7-4.

Deltaville took first inning 1-0 lead on a double by Ja-cob Houston which scored Alexander Crittenden. In the second inning, Jahleel Sewer doubled up the lead with a solo home run.

However, in the third, a pair of walks and errors propelled the Smokies to a five-run inning, taking the lead.

The Deltas charged back, tacking in runs in the fourth and fifth innings to close within 5-4, but an-other fifth-inning error and sixth-inning walk provided two insurance runs for the Smokies, and the Deltas were unable to complete the comeback.

Sewer led the offense with two hits, including his home run. Nicky Wohleking took the loss on the mound, while Devin Sisson and Jay Moore pitched in relief.

Deltas 16, Dodgers 4The Deltas came out

swinging hard on Saturday night, and rolled past the Richmond Dodgers, 16-4.

Deltaville played six runs in the first inning, and nine more in the second before taking their foot off the pedal. Colby Roberts led the charge with a double and home run, while Jacob Houston, Travis Crump, and Chris Blake all collect-ed multi-hit games.

The Dodgers scratched out four runs over the first four innings, but could not keep pace with the Deltas offense.

Paul Jones was credited with the win on the mound.

Eichler sets course record in Mathews Micro-TriGunnar Eichler set a new course re-

cord of 43:02.4 in winning Saturday’s Micro-Triathlon at Williams Wharf Landing. It was the final event in a summer series sponsored by Virginia Tidewater Trailrunners. The micro-tri includes a quarter-mile swim, 8-mile bike ride and 2-mile run.

Zack Gibbs, the previous record holder, came in second behind Eichler in 46:16.5, and Christopher Desteli was third in 46:40.2.

Elena Wigglesworth was top female finisher in 49:43.7, followed by Halen Uliasz, 53:05, and Helen Morris, 56:32. Eighteen athletes took part.

While Eichler took top prize Satur-day, Joel Isley won the crown for the 2020 Series and was named cham-pion with an overall time of 3 hours 20 minutes. Behind him gaining series honors were Doug Parades (3:30) and Helen Morris (3:36).

Lending a festive air to the finale of

this summer series was music by the Edison & Co. band.

Christine Johnson, one of the orga-nizers, said a run-kayak duathlon is being planned for Labor Day weekend. For details, visit vttrailrunners.com.

Elena Wigglesworth was the top female finisher on Sat-urday.

Gunnar Eichler set a new course record in Saturday’s Micro-Triathlon held at Williams Wharf.

Awards went to Micro-Tri series winners, from left, Helen Morris in third, Joel Isley in first place and Doug Parades, second.

Mobjack rowers expand practice routineThe single rowers partici-

pating in Mobjack Rowing As-sociation’s summer rowing program took advantage of an invitation from the Albe-marle crew to practice on the Rivanna River in Charlottes ville on Friday.

Albemarle has a very simi-lar program to Mobjack’s and has attended almost all the regattas held in Mathews for years. Albemarle coach Cathy Coffman invited Mob-jack to a joint practice, row-ing from the same boathouse and river used by UVA’s men’s and women’s teams.

Arriving at 8:15 a.m., sev-en Mobjack rowers donned masks, rigged their boats

and launched to do 1,200- and 500-meter pieces with 13 Albemarle singles in girls’ and boys’ flights. At the var-sity level, Mobjack traded results with Albemarle as Jaysen Hall and Mandy Mo-ran placed first, second or third in different pieces. Ben Stroud and Cole Wheeler ran around second, third or fourth in their various pieces. At the girls’ JV level, Sandra Baer, Zoe Sawyer and Lily Baucom placed second through fourth in their piec-es.

MRA coach Tim Ulsaker was pleased with the prac-tice, commenting, “Today was a great opportunity to

travel to another venue, train on different water and break up the monotony of daily practice while maintaining COVID-19 guidelines. Our young rowers always benefit from the excitement of row-ing with someone new. Both teams learned from each oth-er and I believe the Albemar-le rowers were impressed with the creative way our team has developed to carry two singles with two people. Traditionally, a single is car-ried by one alone or two on one single. We have found two with two to be safe, yet efficient.”

Mobjack will continue to train in singles and hopes to host a similar small practice at Williams Wharf with an-other club in the near future.

Mobjack rowers Mandy Moran (center) and Jaysen Hall (at right) competed with several Albemarle singles in Friday’s joint practice session in Charlottesville. Hall finished that heat in first place, while Moran took third.

Y M C K


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Emergencies Seen Promptly

LOCAL TIDES Mobjack Bay, East River Entrance

HIGH LOW Thursday 11:36 a.m. 5:33 a.m. 8/6 11:58 p.m. 5:46 p.m. Friday 6:10 a.m. 8/7 12:16 p.m. 6:26 p.m. Saturday 12:35 a.m. 6:46 a.m. 8/8 12:55 p.m. 7:12 p.m. Sunday 1:14 a.m. 7:24 a.m. 8/9 1:36 p.m. 7:58 p.m. Monday 1:55 a.m. 8:04 a.m. 8/10 2:21 p.m. 8:48 p.m. Tuesday 2:40 a.m. 8:48 a.m. 8/11 3:10 p.m. 9:43 p.m. Wednesday 3:31 a.m. 9:38 a.m. 8/12 4:04 p.m. 10:42 p.m.

Tide adjustments at other points: York River, Tue Marsh Light—Subtract

5 minutes. York River, Yorktown—Add 5 minutes. York River, Allmondsville—Add 1 hour,

5 minutes. York River, Entrance to Perrin River—

Add 1 minute. Brown’s Bay—Subtract 7 minutes. S.W. Branch Severn River—Add 4

minutes. Ware River—Subtract 4 minutes. North River—Subtract 4 minutes. New Point Comfort—Subtract 1 minute. Piankatank River, Cherry Point—Add 1

hour. Piankatank River, Dixie—Add 1 hour,

33 minutes. Urbanna—Add 2 hours, 50 minutes.

THE SUN THIS WEEK

Sunrise Sunset 8/6 6:15 a.m. 8:07 p.m. 8/7 6:16 a.m. 8:05 p.m. 8/8 6:17 a.m. 8:04 p.m. 8/9 6:18 a.m. 8:03 p.m. 8/10 6:19 a.m. 8:02 p.m. 8/11 6:19 a.m. 8:01 p.m. 8/12 6:20 a.m. 8:00 p.m.

THE MOON THIS WEEK Moonrise Moonset 8/6 10:10 p.m. 8:57 a.m. 8/7 10:36 p.m. 9:55 a.m. 8/8 11:02 p.m. 10:51 a.m. 8/9 11:27 p.m. 11:47 a.m. 8/10 11:55 p.m. 12:44 p.m. 8/11 1:41 p.m. 8/12 12:25 a.m. 2:40 p.m.

AUGUST MOON PHASES Full moon 8/3 Last quarter 8/11 New moon First quarter

8/18 8/25

WEATHERThese readings were compiled

at the Buchanan Weather Station at Gwynn.

DATE MAX MIN Prec. Wind7/28 95 72 .96 34wnw7/29 90 71 0 11wnw7/30 94 74 0 13s7/31 88 73 2.24 15nw 8/1 89 74 .86 24ssw 8/2 92 74 0 22s 8/3 93 72 .20 28sw

Summary

The National Weather Service in Wakefield fore-casts high temperatures in the upper 80s through the weekend, with a chance of thunderstorms daily until Sunday.

York River Cup regatta to be held Sept. 12 from the YRYCThe York River Yacht Club,

Gloucester Point, will hold its annual York River Cup on Sat-urday, Sept. 12, starting at 11 a.m. from buoy R24.

The flagship racing event is a Chesapeake Bay Yacht Rac-

ing Association-sanctioned re-gatta, which features spinna-ker and non-spinnaker fleets for up to three planned races.

This event is open to all Performance Handicap Rac-ing Fleet boats with category

5P/4P certificates. Partici-pants must include a copy of your 2020 PHRF certificate with your entry form. Entries due to the YRYC Race Cap-tain by race time on Sept. 12. There is an entry fee of $15 for

anyone not already registered for the YRYC 2020 racing sea-son.

Entry form and sailing in-structions are available on the YRYC website (yryc.org/racing). Include a copy of

your 2020 PHRF certificate with your entry form. Boats that do not have a valid PHRF certificate may compete in the Cruising division and will be assigned a rating by the YRYC Race Captain.

Race participants will be invited to participate in the club’s racing awards dinner to be held later in the fall.

For more information, con-tact [email protected] or visit yryc.org.

Horsley hauls in two citation sheepsheadWilliam A. Horsley of

Gloucester caught two cita-tion sheepshead on July 12, according to the latest report of outstanding catches in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.

The online update of July 29 was made on vasaltwater-journal.com.

Horsley’s two fish were

listed as caught somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay on fid-dler crab. They weighed in at 11 pounds, 1 ounce and 12 pounds, 3 ounces.

Also newly reported, Jeff Calhoun of Shacklefords caught a 75-pound, 4-ounce cobia on June 20 at Latimer Shoals.

Local waters have pro-

duced two leading entries in this year’s tournament, to date. David Amorin of West Point caught the lead-ing 94-pound, 8-ounce cobia on June 4 at York Spit, and Tommy Akins, fishing in the lower York River, caught the leading 8-pound, 12-ounce speckled trout on June 21.

PRLGA winners announcedWinners of the Piankatank

River Ladies Golf Associa-tion’s July 30 play day (In-dividual Play Gross) at the Hartfield course were:

First flight—Martha Wiggs

(first place, 82), Julie Whitak-er (second place, 82) and Mi-chele Meanley (third place, 82). Second flight—Kim Har-ris (first place, 88), Chrystal Welch (second place, 92) and

Christi Lewis (third place, 95). Third flight—Kay Lloyd (first place, 103), Karen Go-rin (second place, 105) and Lynne Richardson (third place, 109).

Bay Thunder adding 12U team

The Bay Thunder travel softball program is ex-panding and adding a 12U team this fall and next spring. Tryouts will be determined sometime in the next week. The team is open to girls up to 12 years old from all of the surrounding counties. For more information, contact J.J. Ashberry at 804-824-4096.

RCC to offer ‘Introduction to Feng Shui’

Rappahannock Community College’s Rappahannock Institute for Lifelong Learning will offer “Introduction to Feng Shui” from 1-3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18 through Zoom.

Advance registration with a tuition payment of $20 is required. Residents of Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury in Lancaster County receive a 50 percent discount. Virginia

Commonwealth Bank Golden Advantage members receive a 15 percent discount.

For more information on “Introduction to Feng Shui” and other RILL courses or to register, call Michele Inderrieden at 804-333-6824 or email [email protected]. You can also register at www.rappahannock.edu/rill.

Camp Kekoka Family Camp weekends availableSignup continues for the

YMCA’s Camp Kekoka Fam-ily Camp, with eight private cabins at the Kilmarnock lo-cation available Upcoming weekends are Aug. 28-30 and Sept. 11-13.

Up to 10 members of one family may reserve a cabin, each with a toilet and sink,

air conditioning, and a large table with chairs for games. Each family unit will have dedicated shower stalls—one for girls and one for boys. Meals will be provided, too, breakfast, lunch and din-ner on Saturday, and break-fast on Sunday.

Go to https://ymcavp.org/camp-kekoka-family-camp for prices and other informa-tion, or contact Cassie Leich-ty at 804-435-3616.

Y M C K


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tropical storm isaias causes governor’s cup wind damage ... · according to a press release from...

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